Team review: RHS girls’ basketball

The Rhinelander High School girls’ basketball team was 7-9 on the year and effectively out of the Great Northern Conference race following a loss at Medford Jan. 23. 

Instead of chalking up the season as a learning experience with a young roster devoid of any seniors, the Hodags found another gear. Rhinelander went 9-2 from that point, won its first regional title since 2020 and were a couple of plays — and arguably a couple of no-calls — away from advancing to the sectional finals. 

Rhinelander had young talent, and while it took some time for the pieces to gel, the Hodags showed by the end of the year that they could compete with some of the best teams, and players, in Division 2.

“This was a trying year,” Hodag coach Ryan Clark said after the team knocked off Marinette Feb. 28 for the regional title. “There’s a lot of really good positive moments, and then some not so good. Our coaching staff, we did the best we could, but sometimes we navigated it incorrectly, how to handle some of those tough losses against the good teams we played. But we kept telling them, like, we can win this regional. We have to believe, we have to keep getting better. We didn’t have to win it back in January. We had to win it by the end of February.”

Here are five storylines from the recently completed season.

Growing pains

The Hodags certainly did not ease into their schedule. They played one of the preseason favorites in Division 4, Eau Claire Regis right out of the gate, and the GNC schedule did the Hodags no favors, pitting Rhinelander against the two other conference front-runners — Mosinee and Medford in its first two conference games. 

Rhinelander found itself 5-6 on the season by the end of December and struggling to find its rhythm with a European style of offense. In those six losses, the Hodags were averaging just 41 points per game and 0.67 points per possession. The team was also struggling to hit shots. Rhinelander averaged nearly 2 1/2 more 3-point attempts than 2s in those games and shot just 21.1% beyond the arc.

Rhinelander was also adjusting to how teams were playing defense. The Hodags didn’t see much man-to-man. Teams ran were either running zone or a hybrid — either box-and-one or triangle-and-two — to slow down leading scorer Aubryn Clark and her younger sister Teagan. 

The Hodags got above .500 with a 53-29 win at Lakeland Jan. 13 but then dropped three straight games, including a 42-38 defeat at Shawano and a tight 53-51 loss at Medford and to drop to 7-9.

“A lot of growing things we can learn from,” coach Clark said after the Jan. 20 Shawano loss. “I told the girls this is an opportunity. We might be here for playoffs. same location, same team. We just got to be a little bit better, not hurt ourselves.”

Rigorous schedule

Part of the Hodags’ struggles was simply a byproduct of who they were playing in the non-conference slate. Regis, Rice Lake, Shawano, Stevens Point, Mosinee and Wisconsin Rapids Assumption were all ranked in the Bound Wisconsin/Zaleski Sports Media Poll at some point during the season. Assumption was the only one of those schools Rhinelander defeated. 

As coach Clark noted during the banquet, of the eight teams who accounted for Rhinelander’s 11 losses, six made it to the sectional round of the WIAA tournament. The lone exceptions were Medford and Menomonie, who opened the tournament against each other. Medford won that game and was knocked off in the regional finals by Rice Lake. Of those six, two — Rice Lake and Mosinee — advanced to the state tournament. 

The combined record of the eight teams the Hodags lost to were 166-52. 

Rhinelander pushed itself in the non-conference schedule, which was by design to prepare the team for postseason play.

“I know that our record isn’t great this year, but I feel so prepared that we played a tough schedule, so I think the speed that they’ve been used to, because they play a tough schedule, I don’t think that’s going to make a difference for us,” coach Clark said prior to the playoffs. “I think we’re pretty well prepared to play these guys and pretty excited.”

Late push

Of course, some late momentum didn’t hurt the Hodags’ cause, either. The Hodags rolled through the late part of the season, mainly playing the bottom half of the GNC. Rhinelander’s only loss during the final nine games of the regular season came against D2 state qualifier Rice Lake.

The Hodags carried that momentum into the playoffs, where it held Pulaski to 23% shooting in a 42-27 win. A night later, at Marinette, the Hodags rallied from down 11 in the second half to defeat Marinette 47-43. Rhinelander closed that game on a 10-0 run and went ahead for good on a Lexi Beran putback with 2:24 remaining.

That set up a rematch against Shawano in the sectional semifinals in which the Hodags cut a seven-point deficit with 1:20 remaining down to one point before losing 50-47. Two controversial no-calls on the same play led to a Leah Nordin game-sealing layup. First, Nordin was not called after elbowing Teagan Clark to get free on the play. Secondly, officials missed that Creden Weisnicht had part of her foot in bounds when she inbounded the ball to Nordin.

Even with the bitter ending, coach Clark said the Hodags had a sweet run to finish the season.

“Disappointed that we lost, because we knew we could beat this team,” coach Clark said afterward. “Good battle by both teams. Shawano played very well. Had a chance to win, so that was disappointing. But I just wanted to remind them that what a great run we’ve had the last week and a half. We leveled up. We were able to get through the regional. We gave a great showing tonight as far as a competitive battle tonight in the sectional.”

Statbook

    In this Feb. 28, 2026 file photo Rhinelander’s Aubryn Clark drives in for a layup ahead during the second half of a WIAA Division 2 girls’ basketball regional final game in Marinette Saturday, Feb. 28. Clark was the Hodags’ leading scorer, averaging 18.4 points per game, as she earned honorable mention All-State in Division 2 from the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

Aubryn Clark picked up a number of milestones and accolades this season as she led the Hodags in scoring at 18.4 points per game. 

Clark, who missed the final 12 games of the 2024-25 season due to a back injury, reached the 1,000-point mark for her career in a game against Merrill Jan. 9. She also made 79 3-pointers during the season, surpassing Lily Treder’s single-season program mark of 77 set during the 2023-24 campaign.

Clark was a unanimous first-team All-Great Northern Conference selection and was voted the conference’s player of the year. Earlier this month, she added Division 2 honorable mention all-state honors from the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association to her résumé. 

“I think she’s the most skilled basketball player in the conference and she requires the most defensive attention,” coach Clark said after his eldest daughter earned GNC player of the year honors. “Even if she doesn’t have the highest shooting percentage this year, just her ability where teams can’t pressure us. Teams can’t press us. She can just run the whole show for us. And then to garner so much attention defensively, face guarded, double team, um, and they keep coming every time.”

If there was one weakness for Aubryn Clark, it was the volume of shots she needed to score this year. She averaged more than 20 field goal attempts per game — including 10.9 3-point attempts per contest. She shot 31.3% from the field and 26.8% from 3-point range, well down from her 36.0% and 40.2% splits the previous year prior to her injury. 

The Hodags had four all-conference selections this season. Teagan Clark was second on the team, averaging 12.4 points per game while Vivian Lamers was the team’s third scoring option at 9.6 points per contest. Lexi Beran averaged 4.4 points per game and was the team’s leading rebounder at 6.4 boards per contest. 

What’s next

With all the players on the roster slated to return, there are greater expectations for the Hodags next season. Winning the GNC may be difficult considering that Mosinee, which went undefeated in league play, also brings back virtually its entire lineup. However, both Rice Lake and Shawano were senior-heavy this season and graduate all-state talents and Wisconsin Badger recruits in Adaline Sheplee and Nordin. 

Assuming Mosinee stays in Division 3, Rhinelander’s path to a deep tournament run could be easier next year, though perennial power Green Bay Notre Dame is projected to drop back to Division 2 via the performance factor — despite playing in the D1 state semifinals earlier this month. 

“I hope that this group can realize that we could get to the state tournament next year. If the sectionals stayed as they are, we would be the favorite,” coach Clark said. “… Green Bay Notre Dame might be coming back down, and so we’ll have some tough challenges in front of us again next year,” he said. Nothing to fear about, nothing I would get worried about. Just know that we have to keep working to get better and we have to go through a gauntlet to get there. But it’s worth it. I promise you, it’s worth it.”

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].